The Underwater Palace
Bereft

I brushed my mind off, ‘ah I might have been imagining, ' I thought.

I do my job as usual, the store is so crowded today I am overwhelmed to serve every buyer.

“Yes you rest, let me change,” said Iyan.

“Serious Bang?”

“Iya.”

I walked into the locker room and took my HP from my bag. When I opened apparently there were many incoming chat including from Laras.

📩 Aya how are you?

📩 Alhamdulillah good Race. How are you healthy there?

📩 Healthy dong 😜, oh yes tomorrow I leave there Yes.

📩 Seriously?

📩 Yes seriously. How's your job?

📩 Thank God, smoothly 😊

📩 Thank you if you feel at home, he said Brian wants to open a branch and I suggest he make you teach about pastry.

📩 Yesterday he said the hell. I was a little surprised at the bargain but I was also smirking.

📩 Yes. Let you not long there many ghosts 👻

📩 Race, I want to eat first we connect again ya 👋

📩 See you. I'll see you tomorrow. I'm going to your house tomorrow.

I also ended the chat with Laras, I'm glad that Laras will come here again.

I opened the box I was carrying from home, when I opened it smelled an unpleasant smell.

'Stale 'ies? How come?' I muttered while sniffing the food in my lunchbox.

“Ya God is very dear. Usually not rich gini even until the night was not stale,” said me.

It looks like the food has smelled and slimy like food that has been stale for a long time.

I put all the food in a plastic bag.

“Yes Allah forgive if this becomes redundant,” I said while throwing the bag into the trash.

While in the locker I vaguely felt the presence of Atmajaya, I tried to find her whereabouts but I did not see her anywhere.

'Sir, I feel like he's here but there isn't, ' I murmured.

Suddenly my HP rang when I saw it turned out to be a call from Abah.

📞Ya Bah's?

📞Aya bulik wahini! (Come home now!)

📞Why Bah? It's noon still not a bull hour.

📞Nini is already Aya (grandmother is no Aya)

I turned off the phone and grabbed my bag and rushed out of the locker room crying.

“Bang.”

“Aya. You why?”

“Nini died Bang.”

“Innalillahi wainna ilaihi. Yes, you have me.”

“Jap!” call Iyan.

“Why Briyan?” ask Japra.

“Where are you going? Why are you crying?” ask Japra.

“His grandmother died. I picked the other one up. Take care of it,” said Iyan patted Japra's shoulder.

“Siap. You guys be careful.”

I rushed into Iyan's car, and the car went and drove towards my house. Luckily my house was close enough so it only took a few minutes to get there.

When going to enter the street area of my house, in front of him there is a black board with a chalk scribble that reads the name of my grandmother along with the clock and date of her death. Next to it is mounted a green flag with a strand of yellow rope on the side of the flag, in which the flag is written Arabic letters.  If in other areas using the yellow flag as a marker there are people who died, but in my area the marker is a green flag bearing the innalillahi wainnailaihi rojiun with a yellow arabic letter.

The plastic chairs were neatly lined up in front of my house. I got out of the car and ran into the house crying.

“How to Nini Bah?” I said while questioning.

“Nini again in the bath,” sahut abah with a sad face.

I went into the body bath area, where my grandmother was rigidly lying in the bathhouse with a banana as a cushion my grandmother was bathed by 3 people.

“Whose camera? (Who are you?)” ask one of the dead bodies.

“Ulun sidin grandson (i am his grandson)” sahutku while crying.

“Nah Ikam Ikui from the head until batis sosimit mengubuynya! (We flush from to foot, slowly flush it)” said the mother while giving a dipper to me.

“Di removed first manyu eyes Nak do not get to the point to the crew of the cidine. (Di removed his tears should not drip into his body)”

I held back my tears while slowly watering my grandmother's body for the last time.

After bathing Grandma's body lifted and to be forgiven, I could only sit limp looking at Grandma's body stiffened, I did not expect if grandma would go this fast.

I lowered my head while holding my cry, but I couldn't hold it back. The tears that I was holding back were now rushing out until I had a hiccup.

This morning I was saying goodbye to him, but God seemed to have another will.

“Already. Kasian nini mun ikam menagis tarus. (grandmother's pity if you hold)” said abah.

“Well pandan scissors only well, while cutting while reading sholawat!” keep abah.

In my area if someone dies, it is mandatory to tie and chop pandan leaves while reading prayers until the leaves are exhausted, usually done by women, be it family or neighbors, later the pandan was used to sow over the tomb.

Some mothers also arrived, carrying a bowl of rice that had been covered with cloth. This is actually one of the traditions before the corpse is buried, usually women from every citizen will come carrying a bowl of rice while the men will help make crates and other death purposes.

Grandma's body was in the cafeteria except for the face, one of the men who pardoned grandmother allowed me to kiss her forehead one last time but with a note not to cry.

Grandmother's face was completely covered by a shroud, the body of the grandmother began to be lifted with a coffin to be taken to the hangar (mushola).

When Grandma's body was taken out of the house, one of the dead mother asked me to infiltrate under the stretcher. The mother said so that the abandoned grandchildren would not be sickly and live a long life.

After being sholatan granny's body was taken to a public cemetery located quite far from my home. 

The sirens began to be lit, green flags began to fly, dozens of people including families took grandmother to her final resting place.

The motorcade broke the sea of vehicles that were quite dense at the time, the sound of sirens echoing along the road, some cars and motorcycles slightly pulled over giving way to us.

From inside the car I stared at the coffin of my grandmother wrapped in a string of flowers.

Arriving at the funeral, Grandmother's body was immediately taken to her last home.

Grandmother's body was put in a crate and then put in a burrow, before the pocong rope had been removed and the body was faced with the qibla.

Not without reason why to wear a crate, because this is still a swamp area, and if the tide is sometimes able to rise to the surface. Even if the rain is heavy, it is not uncommon for newly excavated graves to come out of the water and eventually pool inside. If you do not use a chest, the body will float and be difficult to bury.

Hi gais.

How are you doing? 

Sorry for the new author update on this story.

Don't forget his support.

Look forward to the next story.